What the Trillium has received is internal government data. It sheds light on the huge discrepancies in staffing levels from one long-term care home to another in Ontario. The report includes which facilities met the province’s staffing targets. It highlights those that failed to meet expectations, sounding the buzzer on widespread substandard care across the industry. These results show that many homes, especially those run for profit, were, as intended, delivering less direct patient care.
Among the most concerning revelations is that Southbridge Care Homes, a for-profit operator, owns seven of the bottom ten lowest-staffed homes in Ontario. The report paints a troubling picture of the crisis the province’s LTC system is currently engulfed in. Yet it continues to combat staffing shortages, in turn harming the quality of care residents receive.
Disparities in Care Levels
The report shows that some of these facilities were delivering far below the provincial goal of two hours of daily hands-on care. One exceptional instance is Chelsey Park in London. In its last quarter, it had an average of only 1 hr and 5 min per day of direct patient care. This starkly contrasts with some homes that delivered well over the interim target of 3 hours and 42 minutes of daily care for each LTC resident.
Taken together, the data indicates a serious crisis in the industry. It’s left too many long-term care homes unable to meet even these bare minimum staffing requirements. These failures have spelled danger for the safety and health of the residents. Lack of staffing can lead to tangible care deficits.
Southbridge and Political Pressures
In May, Southbridge Care Homes bought 21 homes from Revera, bringing together two of Ontario’s largest investor-backed LTC chains. Even after gaining control of these homes, Southbridge has been criticized for its understaffing. More troubling is the Ontario opposition’s accusation of a conflict of interest. They claim Southbridge contracted government-connected lobbyists in late 2020 to assist them in overcoming regulatory obstacles.
Under state legislation, LTC operators – including now defunct Southbridge – are protected from such lawsuits if plaintiffs can show only exposure to COVID but not gross negligence. This opens up serious questions about accountability in the sector and whether resident protections go far enough.
“We should have a national healthcare system with national doctors that can work anywhere in Canada,” – Dan Mazier, MP for Riding Mountain, Manitoba.
Broader Implications for Healthcare
The staffing crisis in long-term care isn’t just confined to that sector. It’s symptomatic of a larger systemic problem within Canada’s healthcare structure. Canadian Federation of Agriculture President Dan Mazier has expressed support for a national licensure approach, arguing that standardized credentials should be implemented across provinces. He called this move a big step towards lowering the barriers for over 13,000 internationally-trained doctors. These physicians continue to face an inability to practice today due to costly and fragmented credentialing processes.
Her comments come as the urgency of the crisis facing Canada’s healthcare workforce has increasingly come to light. Canada’s federal Conservative Shadow Minister of Health has identified structural barriers as key to the current health workforce crisis. Indeed, among the many reasons we’re losing the healthcare reform discussion again in 2023 is that we desperately need a more holistic approach.
Ongoing Care-Gap Concerns
Even after years of background conversation on the need for reforms and improvements, the care-gap in long-term care homes is a critical issue today. One of their latest surveys reported 25 miscarriages within the first 30 surveyed households, a staggering indication of surgery-related care delivery gaps. The need for deep and systemic change is increasingly clear given the consequences that come to light due to a lack of appropriate staffing and oversight.
Community environmental health concerns are increasing around new data centers. It revealed high nitrate levels, sometimes at least eight times Oregon’s safe limit, in a household well nearby. These findings further highlight the intimate ties that inextricably link health, infrastructure, and governance when addressing present-day hardships and future complications alike.
